


And I'm Saying Goodbye

by huffletodapuffle



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-09
Updated: 2014-09-09
Packaged: 2018-02-16 16:55:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2277498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huffletodapuffle/pseuds/huffletodapuffle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the battle against Gaea, tragedy leaves Percy heartbroken and lonely, and there's only one person who can help his life return to normal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And I'm Saying Goodbye

Nico’s heart has broken for Percy Jackson many, many times. But none hit quite as hard as the Giant War, when he heard an agonizing screech from across the battlefield, a sound so heart-wrenching that even the manticore that Nico had been fending off stopped to listen. This gave him an edge, and he reduced it into a pile of dust before turning his attention to the sound that had torn his heart in half.  
“ANNABETH!” The raven-haired son of Poseidon was hunched over a bruised and bloody body, a mop of blonde curls splayed over the green grass.  
“PERCY, WATCH OUT!” Nico cried, a burst of adrenaline sending him sprinting. He didn’t have time to deflect the giant thundering into their wake, and Percy was too absorbed to care, so Nico hurdled over both of them, grabbing their wrists and using the giant’s enormous shadow to travel somewhere, anywhere safe.  
They had been so close. So close to ultimate defeat, Gaea falling deeper and deeper back into her slumber, and the monsters finally, finally staying dead when they were killed. They hadn’t lost anyone. Until now.  
Nico took a brief second to feel guilty about leaving the others on the battlefield, but with a brief glance at Jason, knew that they would have it covered, and fled immediately, knowing that losing Percy and Annabeth wouldn’t do any of them good.  
They ended up in an abandoned clearing, under a towering tree. Nico leaned against the trunk, breathing deeply and trying to regain his strength as fast as possible.  
“Percy…” he managed to choke out through ragged breaths.  
“HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?!” Percy cried, spinning on his knees away from Annabeth’s lifeless body. “YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST LET ME DIE.”  
“Why would I do that?” Nico spat, his breaths still coming in short wheezes.  
Percy fell to the ground again, sobs wracking his frame. “Because,” he said. “I’m nothing without her.” He fell over her body, wrapping his arms around her, begging. “Please, come back. Please.” He kissed her and kissed her, but Nico knew she was gone. Her spirit was floating behind him.  
“Take care of him,” she pleaded, a gentle whisper in his ear. Nico could only nod as the silvery spirit sank to the Underworld below.  
“Percy,” Nico muttered, kneeling to the ground, where he was still sobbing over Annabeth’s body. “Percy.”  
The other boy’s head shot up, a sudden hope filling his eyes.  
“Can you bring her back?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. “You’re the son of Hades, you must be able to…”  
Nico shook his head, the sadness in his eyes deepening. “Believe me, I’ve tried.”  
He expected any other response. A fumbling apology, after remembering that Bianca had died under his watch. A sad smile and a deep longing look towards Annabeth. A nod in understanding, and going back to weeping over her body.  
What Nico didn’t expect was a sour look and a bitter, “then you might as well have left me to die.”  
“Percy!”  
“You heard me. She is everything to me!” he screeched, standing up and towering over Nico, who was still sitting under the tree. “And now she’s gone, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Nothing anyone can do about it.”  
Nico couldn’t take it anymore, feeling the anger bubble inside of him. He struggled to his feet, the shadow travel having taken a lot out of him, but dammit, he meant business.  
“If you think that I would just let you die you’ve got another thing coming. If you think that her death affected just you, you’re wrong.”  
“Yeah, yeah, I know all about your stupid little crush on her,” Percy spat. “We all did.”  
Nico stood for a minute, dumbfounded. Thinking back to he and Jason’s encounter with Cupid, it all made sense. “I didn’t love her,” he murmured.  
“What?” Percy asked, accusingly.  
“I said, I didn’t love her,” Nico repeated, but louder and with more authority this time. “When I said it didn’t affect just you, I wasn’t talking about me. I was talking about Piper, her siblings, friends from camp, Hazel, for gods’ sake,” he recited, his voice dripping with venom. “But I wasn’t about to let you go on and die, and affect more people’s lives. Including mine.”  
“How would I affect you?” Percy tossed back, voice dripping with bitterness. “You hate me.”  
Nico barked a laugh. “Hate you? Gods, Percy, you really are a Seaweed—“  
“Don’t.” Percy warned, pinning Nico against the tree. “Don’t. You. Dare. Finish.”  
Right. Annabeth’s nickname. But, Nico was feeling pushy. “It’s true. You can’t see what’s right in front of you.”  
“And what would that be?”  
“I’m not in love with Annabeth,” Nico forced out of his mouth. “I never was. It was always you.”  
Percy’s arm against Nico’s throat relaxed, and his expression softened. “Me?”  
Nico took the opportunity to push him completely off. “See why I couldn’t let you die.”  
Percy was silent for a full minute, a first for him, before deciding to speak. “Nico…I-I’m sorry…”  
“You’re nothing without her? I’m nothing without you.” At this point, Nico was just letting the words tumble out of his mouth, releasing all of the pent up feelings from years of hating himself, and trying to hate Percy. “Was I selfish? Maybe. But I also knew that if Camp Half Blood lost both of you? That would be a disaster and a half.”  
Percy let down his guard, glancing at Annabeth’s body again. “Don’t you see? They already have.”  
“Percy…”  
“I’m sorry, Nico, but…” Percy stopped. “Like I said, she’s everything to me. I don’t think I can go back there without her.”  
Nico didn’t say it out loud, for fear of not succeeding, but it was that moment that he swore that he would bring Annabeth back, whatever it took.  
Because that would make Percy happy again.  
As for his own happiness? Well, he was fairly certain it was never in the book for him, so he devoted himself wholeheartedly to making the boy he loved smile again.  
Even if it broke his heart in the process.  
Percy and Annabeth, on a whim, had done several things once they were out of Tartarus. They didn’t know the future, and figured that was a perfect excuse to plan it.  
During their free hours, they applied to colleges in New York, using Leo’s implanted computer system to send off applications. Once they’d received acceptances to NYU and Columbia, respectively, they’d found an apartment in the middle and used some of what Annabeth had saved from beginning reconstruction on Olympus as a down payment. Percy swore up and down that he would replenish his half once he began his part-time job at the aquarium that he was planning to start once they’d started college. Annabeth would laugh, call him Seaweed Brain and kiss him in between his eyebrows.  
After the war, he moved into that apartment.  
He stuck with their plan. He worked at the aquarium, he went to school. As if somehow, that would have brought her back.  
Nights were rough, and he would toss and turn in their—his—bed. Every time that he closed his eyes he would see her in his dreams.  
It was Nico who would find him, in the early hours of the morning, sitting alone in his living room with bags under his eyes, a forgotten documentary about architecture on the screen, Percy staring out the window.  
“Dude,” Nico said, and Percy jumped slightly, turning for a moment, but then facing the window again. “Are you even taking care of yourself?”  
Percy gave a half-hearted shrug, so Nico sighed, getting up to check the fridge, which contained exactly three cheese sticks and a moldy lemon. The cabinets weren’t much better, containing a quarter of a sleeve of stale crackers and exactly one slice of bread.  
“Have you even thought about grocery shopping?” Nico asked. Percy just shrugged again.  
That was when Nico became a roommate of sorts. He slept on the couch most of the time, when he wasn’t on runs for Hades, and took online classes to get caught up with the high school curriculum. He made sure that Percy’s house was stocked with food, and that the older man was sleeping, eating, and getting to work and class on time.  
All the while, he was searching for a way. A way to get her back. Because he knew, unless he got her back, he would never truly be happy again.  
They continued in this situation for two years or so, a touch and go basis, until the start of year three, when one day, Percy seemed to snap out of his slump. When Nico came home, he found the son of Poseidon in the kitchen, and something smelled wonderful.  
“Uh, hey, Percy,” he said, closing the door behind him.  
The other man turned around, smiling at Nico. “Oh, hey dude. How goes it?”  
“Uh. Okay?” Dropping his jacket on the coat rack, he made his way to the kitchen and sat at the counter. “What’cha making?”  
“My mom’s homemade mac and cheese, blue of course,” Percy said, grinning.  
“I…didn’t know you could cook,” Nico said, choosing his words carefully. He’d always done most of the cooking, or they would order out. Percy wasn’t exactly in the mood to cook, and Nico was happy to do it. On his own, he’d discovered how much he liked to cook, and had even had a brief stint at a restaurant in Italy before he found Hazel. He managed to look older than he was, and the owner didn’t ask a lot of questions after learning he was an orphan.  
So, he had done the cooking for the most part, and the two hadn’t talked a lot. Of course, there was the normal roommate conversations, the “hey,” and “I’m going out,” but never an extended conversation, or even more than two brief sentences.  
“You mean I didn’t cook,” Percy corrected with a smirk. “It’s okay, I get it.”  
“Well, I mean, no offense, but you’ve kind of been…out of it…for the past two years.”  
Percy sighed, putting down the spoon he’d been stirring with. “I wanted to apologize for that. I know I haven’t been the best roommate.”  
“It’s alright,” Nico shrugged. “You kind of went through something huge.”  
“Well, it was no excuse for the way I acted,” Percy said. “I’m sorry for what I said and did that day, and for the past two years. Thank you for dealing with me, and making sure I took care of myself.”  
“She asked me to,” Nico mumbled.  
“Huh?”  
“Annabeth,” Nico replied. “She asked me to take care of you. Her spirit, I mean. I saw it pass that day.”  
He thought Percy might snap, go off asking why he didn’t tell him earlier, but to his surprise, he just nodded.  
“That’s what finally brought me around,” Percy said. “I realized that the way I was living wasn’t the way she would want me to.”  
“No, it’s not,” Nico said.  
Percy sighed, going back to his meal. “Hungry?”  
“Starving.”  
The two ate dinner, chatting and catching up on what was new. Percy said that he liked his job at the aquarium, and Nico finally learned that he was majoring in Marine Biology. Figures. Nico told Percy that he was almost done with his online classes, close to getting his GED, and would be starting college classes next fall. Nico helped Percy with dishes, which was utterly and completely domestic and wonderful, and they sat on the couch and talked some more. Finally, Percy admitted his exhaustion and that he had an 8 AM class the next day, heading off to bed. Nico let himself fall into the sofa, sleeping without nightmares for the first time in as long as he could remember.  
Things changed for them after that night. They took turns cooking, and the apartment began to feel homier. Percy finally unpacked the boxes that Annabeth’s family had sent, using some of them for décor, and packing the others away, until he made a further decision. They bought a pull-out couch, so that Nico would have some sort of a bed, and Percy made room in the closet and dresser. They also took turns grocery shopping, for a while, but eventually ended up going together, because Nico noticed that when Percy went, he got distracted by anything blue and forgot half of the list.  
The closer they got, the more Nico would open up about his past. It took time, but Percy would eventually drag it out of him.  
Both of them were enjoying their little routine, Nico enough to ignore the feelings that he had pushed down over the years, which popped up sporadically. He would find himself dreaming of Percy, sneaking in and peering in as the son of Poseidon slept. Still, he ignored the feelings, in favor of keeping their friendship. Neither of them brought up the conversation they’d had over Annabeth’s body, just the way they liked it.  
Everything was perfect, until the night that everything changed.  
It was cliché as hell, Nico’s seventeenth birthday. He came home from class to find a black banner with white writing, reading Happy Birthday Nico strung across the living room. The smell from the kitchen sent a wave of nostalgia running through him, and Percy was grinning from ear to ear, wearing a black party hat.  
“Happy birthday!” he exclaimed, blowing a horn in his face and putting the hat on his head.  
“Percy, what the hell…”  
“From now on, no birthday goes uncelebrated,” he replied. “I even made a cake.”  
Nico’s heart thudded, and he suppressed the urge to kiss his roommate. He hadn’t had a birthday since his mother was alive.  
“Thank you,” he muttered. “What smells good?”  
“I hope you don’t mind,” Percy said. “I tried your mom’s marinara recipe.”  
So that was the wave of nostalgia. Nico remembered sitting at the counter while his mother made this sauce, singing in Italian and pretending not to see him sneak spoonfuls of it.  
Now he did the only thing he could think of. He stepped forward and hugged Percy, clapping him on the back. “Thank you.”  
“You’re welcome,” Percy said, reciprocating the hug. Nico was catching up on height, only a few inches shorter than Percy. They stayed like this for a few seconds, before Percy pulled back. “Come on, I’ve got a surprise.”  
He grabbed Nico’s hand, pulling him to the kitchen. Nico’s heart raced. Pulling out a chair at the two-person table, Percy let Nico sit and went back to the kitchen. Checking the sauce, he stirred another pot of noodles and drained them meticulously. While he waited for the sauce to finish cooking, he pulled a bottle out of the fridge.  
“Surprise,” he said, pulling out two wine glasses that hadn’t been there before. He must have bought them for the occasion.  
“How did you manage that?” Nico asked, as Percy set down the two glasses and popped the cork off the wine. Nico caught a glimpse at the label, recognizing it as the kind Hades brought his mother whenever he visited. It was very expensive, and very Italian.  
“Mr. D owed me a favor,” Percy shrugged, setting the glasses on the table and going back to the kitchen. Nico took a sip of his. It was wonderful.  
“So how’s working at camp again anyways?” Nico asked, setting his glass down. Percy had started working as a camp counselor shortly after his breakthrough.  
“It’s good,” Percy said. “I really missed it.”  
“It missed you too,” Nico said as Percy scooped pasta onto a plate.  
“Dinner is served,” Percy said, brining over a plate and setting it in front of Nico. The smell made his mouth water.  
“Just like mom made,” he said, after tasting the first bite. “Thank you.”  
“My pleasure,” Percy said. After dinner, he insisted on signing, loudly and off key and made Nico blow out the candles on his cake. Each were almost done with their second glass of wine by the time that Percy exclaimed, “Oh! I got you something.’  
“You didn’t have to,” Nico said, but was excited nonetheless when Percy pulled out a small box wrapped in black paper.  
“Here,” Percy said, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Nico unwrapped the small box, opening it to reveal a silver skull ring, like the one he’d had for years.  
“I noticed yours was getting a little small,” Percy said, pointing to the skull ring that used to occupy his left thumb, but was moved to his left pinky.  
“Thank you,” Nico said, replacing it. “It’s great.”  
“You’re welcome,” Percy said, taking another sip of his wine. His face was flushed with drink and his eyes were hooded over. Nico quickly downed the rest of his, setting it on the table.  
“There was…something else,” Percy said.  
“You didn’t have to,” Nico said.  
“I wanted to,” Percy replied, standing up and coming around to Nico’s side of the bed. Leaning down, he pressed his lips to Nico’s, who pulled back in shock.  
“Percy…”  
“Shh,” he muttered, pressing his lips against his once more. This time, Nico didn’t protest.  
Percy pulled him up and over to the couch, not separating their lips. Nico landed on top of Percy, in between his legs, Percy’s hands slipping under Nico’s shirt, lifting it over his head. Nico did the same, taking time to admire Percy’s sculpted chest with his hands.  
“Come to bed,” Percy mumbled, biting Nico’s lip and pulling it.  
Nico nodded, and Percy stood up, taking his hand and pulling him into the bedroom, closing the door gently behind them.  
Nico woke up in an unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar bed, dazed and confused, but thoroughly well-fucked. Wanting nothing more than to curl back to sleep under the arm of whoever was warm next to him, he rolled over and opened his eyes to find Percy Jackson.  
Memories from the night before came rushing into his head, a little fuzzy from the wine, but not so much that he didn’t remember at all.  
He and Percy had sex.  
Shit.  
He tried to get up, but the warm arm around him was tight and unrelenting.  
“Where do you think you’re going?” asked a sleepy Percy with a dopey grin.  
“I-we-you…last night.”  
“I’m well aware, Nico,” Percy mumbled sleepily. “But that doesn’t answer my question.”  
“You…don’t want me to leave?”  
“Why would I want that?” Percy asked.  
“Because we…”  
“Had sex? And?” he asked. “It was great. Did you not think so?”  
“No…I mean, yes, but…I’m just a little confused,” Nico said. “I thought you were in love with Annabeth.”  
Percy nodded. “Yeah, and there will always be a part of my heart that belongs to her. But she’s gone, and I have to accept that.” The familiar sadness crept back into his eyes.  
“So, what is this?” Nico asked.  
“This is something new,” Percy said. “Something different, and something I really like, and would like to continue, if you’d want to as well.”  
“Y-yes. I’d like that,” Nico said. “A lot.”  
“Good,” Percy said, pulling the younger boy into his arms. “Because you’re not moving.”  
Nico’s entire world turned upsidown over the next weeks. He was Percy’s, and Percy was his. It was something he’d always dreamed of, and something he’d always wanted.  
He thought briefly about quitting his search for a way to get Annabeth back. It had been three years, and he had no clues. But he pushed the thought out of his head, vowing to try every possible solution before quitting, and resolved to enjoy the time he had with Percy.  
Nico wasn’t a touchy person, but he didn’t mind when Percy dragged him by the hand through the aquarium, enthusiastically explaining each and every fish. He didn’t mind the small kisses on his cheeks in public, the ones that marked him as Percy’s.  
A few months into their relationship, Percy took him to meet Sally and Paul, who were enthusiastically welcoming and delighted to see Percy so happy again. That same week, they came out to their friends, who were all accepting and very happy to see Percy up and around again, as well as Nico, happier than he’d ever been.  
They had been official for six months, and Nico was in the middle of cooking dinner when a thought occurred to him.  
He knew how to get Annabeth back.  
“Uh, Perc?”  
“Yeah Nico?” He lolled his head to look at him and gave the younger boy a lazy smile.  
This wasn’t going to be easy.  
“What if I told you there’s a way to get Annabeth back?”  
Percy’s head shot up at this. He yanked his arm from around Nico’s shoulders and gave him a rigid look.  
“You said there wasn’t—“  
“At the time I didn’t know of any,” Nico said. “But I’ve been looking ever since. I knew it was the only way that you’d ever be really happy.”  
Percy was silent, but nodded slowly.  
“There’s one way, but it’s risky,” Nico said, running a hand through his messy hair. “It’s only ever happened once, and that turned out badly.”  
“What was it?”  
“Do you know the tale of Orpheus?”  
“Refresh my memory?”  
“He fell in love with a nymph, and when she died, he followed her to the Underworld. He played a song and Hades was feeling generous. He said that if he could walk out of the Underworld with her in tow, never looking back to check if she was there, he could have her back. If he didn’t, his soul would belong to Hades too.”  
“Nico, your dad hates me. Why would he let me even try?”  
“Because he’s almost sure you’ll fail.”  
“And you don’t think I will?”  
“I don’t.”  
“Why?”  
“Because I saw the way you looked at her when she died,” Nico said, his eyes darting down. “You’d do anything to get her back.”  
“What makes you think you are better than Orpehus?” Hades had already barked a laugh at his request, and had been condescending his abilities since then.  
“I know I’m better,” Percy said, folding his arms. He was confident. He could do this.  
“Fine, demigod. But if you turn around…”  
“I know, I know, eternal damnation, I’ll be stuck here forever, I know the drill. Can I get on with it now?”  
“Not just yet, Perseus Jackson.” He surpressed a groan. “I have something special in mind for you.” That was never good. “If you succeed, you get your dear mortal back. But if you don’t, I will not only keep her, but I will keep Nico here all year round, and you’ll never see him again either.”  
“That wasn’t the deal!” Percy bellowed, but Hades only laughed.  
“Oh, young hero, you don’t understand. I make the deals. Besides, if you’re so sure you’re better, you should be able to do it no problem.”  
Percy’s anger towards the god flared up. He would prove better than Orpheus.  
“Deal,” Percy said, begrudgingly. “But, if I do succeed, you leave Nico alone, aside from Underworld business.”  
Hades paused. “Fine. You have one chance, mortal.”  
The throne room disappeared, and Percy was standing in the Fields of Asphodel. Across the way, standing at the edge of Esylium, was Annabeth, in her orange Camp Half Blood shirt and cutoff shorts.  
It took all his restraint to not run to her in that moment. He saw her mouth his name.  
He had to trust her.  
Turning around, he began to walk.  
It was so hard. So hard not to turn around and see her, looking the same as she did at eighteen years old. He longed to run to her, wrap her in his arms and never let go of her. To kiss her until they both couldn’t breathe, and to take her home, and make love until they both couldn’t anymore.  
If he ever wanted to do any of those things again, he would have to keep walking.  
Just a few more steps, he kept telling himself. And she’s yours, forever.  
He wanted to look back so bad.  
She’s following you. The voice made him jump, before he realized it was Nico. A voice in his head. She’s there. Don’t look back.  
This gave Percy a second wind. He was confident, and didn’t turn, took those few more steps, and crossed.  
Once he did, he closed his eyes, breathing heavily. This had to be a dream, standing in his apartment, pretending Annabeth was behind him.  
“Percy?”  
Music to his ears.  
He finally turned around. “Annabeth.”  
“Percy.” She jumped into his arms, wrapping herself around him completely. He caught her easily and buried his nose in her neck. Annabeth.  
“Gods, I’ve missed you,” Percy mumbled into her collarbone, never wanting to let her go.  
“How long?” she asked, pulling her face out of his shoulder and brushing bangs from his face.  
“Three years,” he muttered. “But that doesn’t matter, you’re back now.”  
“How?” she breathed, running her hand along his face.  
“You’re back,” Nico said, stepping into the living room, a sad smile on his face.  
“You’re here,” Annabeth replied, untangling herself from, but not letting go of Percy.  
“He helped me find you,” Percy said. “He’s been looking for three years.”  
Annabeth’s face melted. “Oh, Nico,” she said, going over and surprising the young boy by wrapping him in a hug.  
“Uh…”  
“Thank you,” she whispered, pressing a kiss to his cheek.  
All he gave in return was another sad smile.  
He left them alone, giving them their time to get reacquainted. He stayed with Jason and Piper for a few weeks, and then Hazel for a month and a half. He only returned to Percy and Annabeth’s when they called and insisted that he come for dinner.  
He begrudgingly accepted after three phone calls.  
He showed up on their doorstep with some fancy-as-shit wine that he’d gotten from Italy, because what the fuck else do you bring to dinner with your ex and his girlfriend that you helped to get out of hell? He wore his signature leather jacket and jeans, because what else would he wear, and he shifted awkwardly from foot to foot outside the door, because what the fuck was he supposed to do?  
It was Annabeth who opened the door. She smiled.  
“Hi Nico,” she said, her voice soft and sweet.  
“Hi,” he said awkwardly.  
“Come in, Percy’s making fish.”  
His specialty; of course.  
Nico walked into the all-too-familiar apartment and tried not to feel sad. This wasn’t home anymore.  
“Hey Nico,” Percy said, giving him a crooked smile. Nico smiled back, pretending his heart wasn’t breaking.  
They ate dinner in a mostly awkward silence, and afterwards Percy and Annabeth washed dishes. Nico had tried to help. It was awkward.  
“So.”  
“So.”  
“I missed you, man.”  
“Yeah, you too,” Nico replied, shielding all emotion.  
Falling into bed wasn’t part of the plan.  
It was new, it was sexy and it was incredible. He didn’t even think he was attracted to women, but gods, Annabeth could do this incredible thing with her tongue, and the way her hair spilled across the pillows made him want to do very very naughty things to her. And so he did. Percy enjoyed it.  
He laid awake for hours, trapped between the two, who were snoring softly. What was he thinking?  
As quietly as he could, he pulled himself out of bed, watching them gravitate towards each other in his absence.  
He left without a trace that he was ever there.  
For a while, he didn’t know what to do, so he traveled. He played the role of college student and backpacked through Europe. He ended up back in Italy, and found the kindly old women he’d worked for when he was thirteen. She’d accepted him with open arms.  
He was okay. Not great, not horrible, but okay. Percy and Annabeth deserved a happy, uncomplicated life, and he was going to give them that. The time he’d had with Percy was incredible, just not in the cards for them.  
He had been working in the restaurant for a solid three months when she came in. A whirlwind of blonde hair and gray eyes and pure and absolute anger.  
“You!” she growled, and in that moment, he was more terrified of her than he ever was of Gaea. She didn’t care that there were people in the restaurant, or that he was taking an order; she walked straight over and yanked him outside by the collar, around the side of the building, into an alley.  
“How could you?” she cried, her voice strained. “Percy cares about you. A lot. Do you know how long I’ve spent trying to find you, di immortales, Nico! You broke that boy’s heart, you know? Do you even care at all?”  
“He deserved a future with you,” Nico said blandly.  
“He wants one with you too!” she exclaimed.  
“And you’re okay with that?”  
Annabeth’s face softened. “If it makes Percy happy, it makes me happy.”  
Nico went rigid and folded his arms over his chest. “What if that’s not what I want?”  
“Gods, Nico, would you get your head out of your ass for a second and listen? We’ve been looking for you for months. We’ve been worried. Percy hasn’t slept in weeks. He wants to know you’re safe, alive, and he wants to be happy with you. And me. It’s probably not your favorite thing, but will you at least try?”  
That’s how he found himself packing up and leaving, shadow travelling all the way back, with Annabeth, and not bothering to rest before he was outside their door.”  
Percy was on the couch, his head in his hands.  
“Percy?” Annabeth cooed softly. He looked up briefly, meeting Nico’s eyes.  
He stood up and crossed the room, eyes meeting Nico’s. He approached him, running his hand along his cheek…  
And promptly punched him.  
“I deserved that,” Nico mumbled, as Annabeth cried, “PERCY.”  
“Yeah, you did,” Percy grumbled, and then grabbed his face, kissing him hard.  
“I should go,” Annabeth said softly. Nico grabbed her hand.  
“No, you should stay,” he replied quietly.  
Somehow they made it to the bedroom, a tangled mess of limbs and clothes flying everywhere.  
“Gods, I missed you,” Percy mumbled, attaching his lips to Nico’s collarbone. Annabeth was at the waistband of his jeans, undoing his belt and yanking them down his hips.  
Nico moaned as Annabeth freed his hard length, wrapping her soft hand around him; there was something, he had realized last time, that felt so good about her hand. Maybe because it was soft and delicate, so much unlike Percy’s, or even his own, which were calloused and rough.  
He made the mistake of meeting Annabeth’s eyes. They were dark with lust and hooded over. She gave him a coy smile, positioning herself over his body and kissing his lips.  
Di immortales.  
His hands dipped under her shirt, only breaking their kiss to pull it over her head, which left her in her bra and panties. He fumbled with the clasp for a minute before she becomes impatient, freeing her breasts  
“Not fair,” Percy mumbled, watching Nico flip Annabeth over, taking one of her erect nipples into his mouth. Percy reached into the bedside table and then rolled over, positioning himself behind Nico, and pressing a kiss to the base of his spine. The younger boy gasped as Percy spread his ass, shivering when he felt the familiar squirt of cold lubricant.  
Percy inserted his fingers, one at a time, until he was two in, spreading Nico gently.  
“Fuck, Percy, just do it!” he growled, pulling his lips away from Annabeth’s.  
He could almost hear Percy’s smirk as he felt hot breaths on his ear.  
“Beg for it,” Percy whispered, nibbling at Nico’s earlobe.  
“Please, Percy.”  
“Percy, what?”  
Nico shuddered. “Fuck me, goddammit!”  
“If you insist,” Percy replied, pulling his fingers out of Nico’s ass and positioning himself behind him. Nico moaned as he sunk balls-deep into him.  
When he opened his eyes, Annabeth was watching with interest, biting her lip so hard that Nico saw it turn pink. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her belly button.  
“May I?” he asked, huskily, his finger hooking in the edge of her underwear.  
“Gods, yes,” she replied, and he whipped them off her long legs in one fluid motion. Percy was rocking at a steady pace as Nico’s head dipped between Annabeth’s thighs.  
“Jesus, Nico,” she hissed as his mouth made contact with her core. He looked up to give her a lopsided grin, but she wasn’t having it, and pushed his mop of black hair back down. “Who said you could stop?”  
Out of the two boys, it was Percy who came first, Nico soon to follow, as the last thrust hit his prostate just so. Percy fell into the bed next to Annabeth, who was moaning and gasping, on her second orgasm.  
“Help me out here, Percy?” Nico asked. “I’m striving for at least one more.”  
“My pleasure,” Percy panted, lifting Annabeth’s chin so that her lips met his. He kissed her with hot, open-mouthed kisses, stopping only to move down her neck, leaving as many hickeys as he could manage on his trail to her left breast. Taking her nipple in his mouth, he tugged softly, paying each special attention while Nico continued to please her nether regions. She rocked one final, earth-shattering time with orgasm, before collapsing into the bed, panting heavily.  
Percy leaned forward to kiss Nico, sucking every bit of Annabeth’s taste left on his lips before they too fell back into the bed, Nico in the middle, just like the first time.  
“We’re glad you’re back, Nico,” Annabeth said, cupping his face with her hand and pressing a kiss to his forehead. She nestled into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. Percy nuzzled the back of his neck, wrapping his arms around Nico as well.  
He was glad he came back too.


End file.
